Cane wins award named after Canes great. And a player expected back; portal news
For the first time, a major national award named after a Miami Hurricane will go to a Miami Hurricane.
UM star Rueben Bain Jr. on Wednesday was named the 2005 winner of the Ted Hendricks award, presented to the nation’s top defensive end.
Bain is the first Hurricanes player to win the award, which is named after UM great Ted Hendricks, who was Miami’s first College Football Hall of Fame inductee in 1987 and is the only three-time All-American in schools history (1966, 1967, 1968).
Hendricks was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990 after a 15-year career with the Colts, Packers and Raiders. He was a four-time Super Bowl champion and a four-time first team All Pro.
Bain was a dominant force for the Canes this season, producing 54 total tackles, 9.5 sacks, 15.5 tackles for loss and a nation-leading 83 quarterback pressures in 16 games.
He had a key blocked field goal in a first-round playoff win at Texas AM and had 2 1/2 sacks and a season-high eight tackles in the national championship game loss to Indiana.
Bain — who also was named a first-team All American this month — closed his UM career with 121 tackles, 33.5 tackles for loss, 20.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, one interception and three pass breakups in three seasons.
The winner of the ACC’s Defensive Player of the Year award, Bain is projected to be selected in the first half of the first round of April’s NFL Draft.
Smith expected back
Starter Mo Toure isn’t the only UM senior veteran linebacker who is expected to get another year of eligibility to return.
Chase Smith — whose experience and coverage skills and physicality are an asset in the linebacker rotation — also is expected back, with past injuries expected to earn him another year in college as well.
The 2026 season will be Toure’s eighth season of college football and Smith’s sixth.
Smith, who has played 47 games for Miami over five years, had 32 tackles and two fumble recoveries in 265 defensive snaps this past season.
▪ After UM snagged Duke quarterback Darian Mensah and receiver Cooper Barkate in the portal this week, 247 Sports raised the Hurricanes to third in the team portal rankings, behind LSU and Texas Tech.
▪ ACC Network analyst and former Clemson player Eric Mac Lain declared on X: “With the addition of Darian Mensah… the Miami Hurricanes should be the preseason #1 team in the country… this team is STACKED.”
Here’s my Wednesday piece with lots of feedback and nuggets on new UM quarterback Darian Mensah.
This story was originally published January 28, 2026 at 5:29 PM.
